In letter, 72 Assembly Democrats push Silver on public financing of campaigns

A group of 72 Assembly Democrats wrote to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, urging him to support campaign-finance reform and the public financing of campaigns.

“This would enable us to restore trust in the fairness of the political process by diminishing the perceived excessive influence of wealthy special interests,” the members wrote in a letter Tuesday obtained by Gannett’s Albany Bureau.

Silver has supported public financing, as the letter states, and he introduced a campaign-finance package on Tuesday amid corruption scandals that have rocked the Capitol. The Assembly members said the climate is right for public financing, but Senate Republicans—who share power in the chamber—have opposed it.